How to Get Your Teacher Ready by Jean Reagan

How to Get Your Teacher Ready is written by Jean Reagan and illustrated by Lee Wildish. This is a fun story for young children to read! It goes throughout the first day of school, but instead of the teacher showing the students everything, the children in the story show the teacher. Not only do the students get the teacher ready for the first day of school, but also picture day, the holiday concert, the 100th day of school, field day, etc. Many students don't know that teachers also have first day of school jitters. This book shows children that it's important to make your teacher feel comfortable in the classroom too. It's a silly book which kids will really enjoy, but it also shows how you should be caring towards your teachers.

If you are interested in seeing a video of this book, click here:

I can really relate to this book, and I'm sure other teachers will too! Sometimes on my first day of huge events at school, I have students help me get ready. As teachers, we usually have to figure things out on our own. I have had to go into other classrooms and follow a new routine. Luckily, many of the students can help me out if I don't know the routine of that classroom. It's nice to have helping hands!

I also believe that students will get a kick out of it! It's funny for them to see the kids in the book help the teacher get ready for school. Usually, it's the other way around. I have read this story to many of my classes, and it's one of their favorites. I usually ask my students what they would do to help me get ready for school. One girl told me that she would help me find my classroom. A boy told me that he would tell me where they keep the blocks. Another student told me that she would show me all of our books that we have in our classroom. It was nice to see how helpful they would be to me.

Many teachers really do need some help getting ready for school. Which is why I think you should visit a blog that is filled with teacher organizational and management tips! Even if you have been teaching for a really long time, you should check it out. There's always something new and exciting to try. For example, voice level light-up buttons that you can put in your classroom. Check it out for yourself here:
https://kristynsclassroom.blogspot.com/

I really hope you enjoy this book! I know that many of my classes did!

                                                                 HAPPY READINGS!

                                                                            Jenna

The King of Bees by Lester L. Laminack

The King of Bees is written by Lester L. Laminack and illustrated by Jim Lamarche. This inspiring story is about a young boy named Henry who lives on a farm with his Aunt Lilla in South Carolina. He helps his aunt on the farm, but the one thing is can't wait to do is help her with the bees. Aunt Lilla lets Henry carry the smoker that is used to calm the bees, but he has to watch her from a distance. He does not have a protection suit like she does. She tells him that he has to be a little older to handle the bees.

One day, Aunt Lilla notices that the bees are getting ready to swarm which means that they are going to get a new queen. The old one will leave with a few sisters and try to find another place to live. She decides that she needs to quickly set up another box somewhere close by. Henry gets excited and wants to help the bees find the new box. He quickly put on his aunt's bee protection suit, but knocks over a bottle of bee drops. Henry still puts on the suit.

 He dances and shows the bees where the new box is placed. He got tired and takes off the suit to rest. The bees followed him, but he did not notice until he hears the buzzing. The bees lay on top of him (on the suit). Aunt Lilla fetches the smoker, and carefully lists the suit. Henry believes that the bees think of him as their king bee.

Many children are afraid of bees. I love bees and know how much they do for us, but even I sometimes think, "Ahhh! It's going to sting me!" Once you get stung by a bee, you have that worry. I think that children will like hearing a story about a young boy who WANTS to work with bees. They do so much for us, and we need them. Bees don't get the credit that they deserve. I believe that our jobs as adults is to teach children at a young age that bees are helpful. Yes, they can sting, but there is usually a reason. They may be scared and just protecting themselves.

In the classroom, I like to do a small unit on bees. I find different books (nonfiction and fiction) to read to my students. I also like to go through what bees to do help us, and how we can help bees. I also like to go through the life cycle of a bee (just like we do with butterflies).

There's a really great video about bees here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ta154f5Rp5Y

There's a lot of good information on bees and young students really enjoy watching it.

The author also lists a website in the back of the book if you would like to learn more about bees. If you would like to visit, click here:
http://peachtree-online.com/resources/the-king-of-bees/

                                                            Bee Activities                                                                    

Life Cycle of a Bee

Bee Hive Math (Dip Dot or color the correct number)

Letter B bee

Paint a hive using bubble wrap and paint

Bees out of toilet paper rolls

 I hope you and your students really enjoy this book! This is one of my favorite finds!!

                                                                   HAPPY READINGS!

                                                                              Jenna

P.S. Did I mention that I like to take pictures of bees??

     

Too Many Carrots by Katy Hudson

Too Many Carrots is written and illustrated by Katy Hudson. This story is about a rabbit who LOVES carrots! He collects them wherever he goes. Soon there is no more room for carrots in his house. He then decides to ask his friends if he can sleep in their houses. They agree, but he also brings more of his carrots. Each time, the carrots ruin the homes of Tortoise, Bird, Squirrel, and Beaver. When there aren't anymore houses, Rabbit decides that the best thing to do with carrots is to share them with everyone.

There are a few activities that I did with my students based on Too Many Carrots. I really like to incorporate math with literature. The math activity that I have done is addition with carrots. Students have fake carrots that they can use as manipulatives. They then write down the numbers. If you have younger students, you can have students practice writing their numbers.

Adding with carrots

With younger children, I like to have them write using orange sand (the sand does not have to be colored orange). I have letters written on carrots and they write with their finger in the sand. For older or advanced children, have them write words (and, the, from, etc.). It's an engaging activity for young children. There are many children who like the sensory aspect of this activity.

Writing with sand

A third activity I like to do is sequencing. For young students, you can use pictures from the story and have them put them in order as a whole group. For older students, have students draw and write their own sequence of events. Students can share what they did for their sequence with the whole group when they are finished. You can also print out pictures of the events from the story, and have students put them in order in small groups.

Sequencing a story

If you would like to listen to the author, Katy Hudson, read the story, go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loCtdCHLm1k

I found a really fun Too Many Carrots sensory bin activity for preschool at:
https://teaching2and3yearolds.com/too-many-carrots-preschool-spring-sensory-bin/

Hope you enjoy this adorable story about friendship and sharing!

                                                                    HAPPY READINGS!

                                                                               Jenna

If You Give A Pig A Pancake by Laura Numeroff

If You Give A Pig A Pancake is written by Laura Numeroff and illustrated by Felicia Bond. I absolutely love these stories: If You Give A Moose A Muffin, If You Give A Dog A Donut, If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, etc. This story follows a pig and a young girl. The girl gives a pig a pancake and she then asks for some maple syrup. Once she gets the syrup, she becomes sticky and wants to take a bath. She then wants bubbles and then asks for a toy. It keeps going on until she hangs wallpaper at the end. She gets sticky and it reminds her of the maple syrup which makes her want a pancake.

 This story is great for young children. It's a very simple story, but very fun for them. It also has a chain reaction concept within the story. If you give the pig a pancake... she'll want maple syrup. Because she gets sticky, she wants to take a bath, etc. I have had students use this concept and make their own. For example, if you give a snake chicken nuggets, he will want ketchup to go with it.

Example of how students can use a map to see the chain of events

 Children also like to act this story out. Have students take turns being the pig or the girl and act out parts of the story. I also like to use the scenes in the story and have the class put the events in order from first to last. You can do this as a whole group, small group, or individually. I personally like to have my students do this activity as a small group, and then come back as a whole to see how they have done.

Children will put the circles in order here.

These are cut out so that the students can put them in order.

  With young children, I also like to do art projects with If You Give A Pig A Pancake. I have had my students make pig masks before. I also had students make their own kinds of pancakes using paint, paper plates, and paper. They can add syrup, butter, chocolate chips, blueberries, strawberries, whipped cream, etc. All fake,  of course! If you nanny, babysit, or have your own children, you should make pancakes to eat! I taught at a preschool for a few years and we were allowed to cook. I easily got some microwavable pancakes, and my students loved them for snack!

Pig masks

Fun pancakes

If you would like to have students watch a video of someone reading the story, go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtfDcZm-SCo

This is a video of "Storytime with Ms. Becky" where she reads the story.

You can also go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogRE_gol_EU
to watch/listen to the story.

                                                                   HAPPY READINGS!

                                                                             Jenna
 

Ferdinand written by Munro Leaf

Ferdinand is written by Munro Leaf and illustrated by Robert Lawson. This book is one of my favorites that I recently discovered. I always knew about the book, but only read it a dew years ago. Boy, was I missing out on a fabulous story! Ferdinand  is about a young bull lving in Spain who loves to sit under his favorite tree and smell flowers while the other young bulls fight with each other. They are getting ready for when they are older to fight in the Madrid bullfights.

One day, when he is much older, Ferdinand sits on a flower that has a bumblebee on it! It stings him, and he goes crazy. The Madrid bullfighters see this and say that they need him to fight in the arena. They bring him to where the fight is supposed to be held. When he is supposed to fight, Ferdinand just sits there because he smells the beautiful flowers from the women's hair in the stands. The fighters get mad, and send him home.

I really enjoyed reading this story to my students. One thing that I like to point out is that it's okay to sometimes want some time to yourself. I feel like so many children are signed up for so many activities these days, and they need to know that it's okay to take a break. Ferdinand liked having some time to just be outside and relax.

Ferdinand smelling flowers

It's also good for parents to read this story too. Maybe their child likes to be alone too. They should be able to understand that it is okay for their children to have some alone time with their thoughts. Maybe they like to read, write, or draw by themselves sometimes. That's okay. Ferdinand's mother at first thought that he was lonely. She then realized that Ferdinand just liked to be alone and smell the flowers in the field.

Ferdinand's mother letting him relax under his favorite tree

Another lesson for students is that you don't have to fight back. Many children may feel like they have to fight back during different situations. You do not have to fight! Ferdinand chose to sit quietly and to not fight. The bullfighters gave up. This also doesn't have to just deal with fighting. If someone tries to get you to do anything that you don't feel comfortable doing, you don't have to do it. Children also need to understand that they have the ultimate decision.

Ferdinand choosing not to fight

After reading this story, my kindergarten class had a fabulous discussion. One of the boys told us that when he was in Aruba, he saw one of these fights on the T.V. The students asked if the bull died, but he said that he didn't watch the whole thing. He did say that the bull was bleeding. That brought up another question about why people do this. It was really hard to answer. Someone said that it was mean, which I do agree with, but it's also someone's culture. One of my students helped me out. He said that it was their "tradition." We talked about how cultures all around the world are different and that this was part of their life style.

It's so good to have deep conversations like this even though these students are only in kindergarten. You never know what their experiences might be like and they may have wonderful ideas to bring up and to share with the class. This story is one of their favorites. We put it in their reading bins since they enjoyed it so much. Many of my students also saw the movie, but they could tell me some of the differences since the book and movie are different from one another.

                                                             Helpful Links                                                                            

If you are interested in seeing all parts of the world, I suggest you visit:
https://dwmorse78.blogspot.com/2019/02/

Devon, the blogger, visits places all around the world, and it's fascinating to learn about her adventures! She has also stopped in Spain!

If you would like to learn more about the culture of bullfighting in Spain, visit:
https://www.spanish-fiestas.com/culture/bullfighting-spain/

If you would like to purchase the book, visit:
https://www.amazon.com/Story-Ferdinand-Munro-Leaf/dp/044845694X/ref=sr_1_8?keywords=ferdinand&qid=1554556678&s=gateway&sr=8-8

If you are interested in buying the movie, click:
https://www.amazon.com/Ferdinand-John-Cena/dp/B0784L5QDY/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=ferdinand&qid=1554556774&s=gateway&sr=8-4

                                                             HAPPY READINGS!

                                                                         Jenna

Wemberly Worried written by Kevin Henkes

Wemberly Worried is written and illustrated by Kevin Henkes. This story is about a young mouse who has a lot of anxiety. She is nervous about everything but the thought of school creates many different worries for Wemberly. When she gets to school, she notices another mouse who looks anxious about the first day of school. Wemberly decides to introduce her stuffed animal to the girl (Jewel) and Jewel introduces her stuffed animal. They decide to play together and have a great day at school.

 
I love reading Wemberly Worried to my students on the first day of school. So many students have the same worries as Wemberly. This is a great way to understand your students. The book helps students discuss how they are feeling at that particular moment. You can see how many students are worried about the first day of school. They can also see that they aren't the only ones feeling nervous.  

After you read Wemberly Worried to your class, have a discussion of what everyone is afraid of. You can create a chart and compare the worries of Wemberly and the worries of everyone in the class. The students will be able to see if they have the same worries of Wemberly. It's also a great way for students to talk about what they are afraid of. It helps children deal with their every day anxieties.

If you have young students, or you have young children, you can also do a fun craft to go along with the book. This is a Wemberly puppet. Many young children love to be able to play with the crafts that they make. Having a puppet can be beneficial to young children. They can act out what happens in the story, or they can act out their fears with their puppet.

I really enjoy this writing activity. There's two parts to it. One part is the art portion where students make their own Wemberly. The second part of the activity is the writing portion. Students write what Wemberly worries about on one line. The second line the students write what they are worried about. If you have older students, you can have them write more without the writing prompts. This one shown is mostly for younger students where they don't have to write as much. This writing lesson helps students express their fears. Sometimes it helps when you write down what you worry about.

If you have children or students who seem to have anxiety, please visit:

https://www.psycom.net/kids-coping-skills-anxiety

This link provides nine strategies for children to cope with anxiety. Any parent, teacher, and babysitter can find this website very helpful. It's important for an adult to understand what the child is going through, and it's their responsibility to help these children cope with their anxiety. I really hope you and your students enjoy this book! It is a great story to have in your library!
 
                                                             HAPPY READINGS! 

                                                                        Jenna  

Good Morning Yoga written by Mariam Gates

Good Morning Yoga written by Mariam Gates and illustrated by Sarah Jane Hinder

Good Morning Yoga is written by Mariam Gates and illustrated by Sarah Jane Hinder. This story uses yoga poses, beautiful illustrations, and catching words to show young children the art of yoga. The poses in this story are meant for morning exercise in order to get ready for the day. Even though it's for the morning, you can implement any of these yoga poses throughout the day. This is a fairly new book that I have, so I haven't been able to use it in my classroom yet.

Each pose is described on each page. There is also an illustration of a child doing the pose. Inside the picture it includes a fun sentence that reads like a story. The author calls it a morning flow. So, readers are meant to practice the yoga poses in order and it will make your mind and body ready for the day.

The Good Morning Yoga Flow

It's up to you how you would like to start this yoga practice. Maybe you would like your students to first listen to the whole book and look at the pictures of the poses. You can then practice each pose while you read the book. If you decide, have your students practice a page a day, and then when they are ready, have them do the whole morning yoga flow.

Tummy Twist

Volcano

Children, whether it's in the classroom or at home, will benefit from practicing yoga. The poses in this particular book gets children ready for the day. It starts by practicing a deep and long breath. It then goes into twists, reaching to the sky, bending, and stretching. It then ends with sitting with the legs crossed, back straight, and breathing in deeply. I noticed that each yoga pose describes breathing. Breathing is a huge part of yoga, and you have to remember to breathe while practicing yoga.

How do you feel?

  At the end of the book, there's a great description about how you are feeling in that moment. It has you close your eyes and just breathe. The author wants you to feel the surroundings around you. Then, choose a word that comes to your mind about how you are feeling at that exact moment. This is great for children to be aware of their surroundings and feelings. You can have students share afterwards as a whole class about how they are feeling.

Usually I post a few activities for each book. This book is different. Yoga is all about practicing. In order to get the most out of this book, I believe that it's important for children to try out the poses. Read the book more than once. Have your students feel comfortable with the poses. Maybe it can become a natural way to start the school day.

                                                                 HAPPY READINGS! 

                                                                              Jenna

Sadie and the Snowman written by Allen Morgan

Sadie and the Snowman written by Allen Morgan and illustrated by Brenda Clark

Sadie and the Snowman is written by Allen Morgan and illustrated by Brenda Clark. This story may be "old," but it is one of my absolute favorites! I first heard about this book while I was teaching preschool in Wrentham, MA. The teacher that I worked with had a few old copies. For the three years that I worked there, it was my job to read it to our class every winter. I feel like students can relate to this story. When we are out on the playground, they want to make snowmen. We have to teach them that it will melt, but you can always make it again when there is more snow.

Sadie trying to save her snowman

 Sadie and the Snowman is about a young girl named Sadie who builds a snowman. She uses different kinds of food as the face. Different animals end up taking the food and the sun melts the snowman. When it snows again, she makes the snowman again, but uses a different kind of food for the face. New animals eat the food and the snowman melts again. This happens a couple of times, so Sadie wants to keep the snowman from melting. She tries to make a tent, put it under the porch, and out it in a bowl under the porch. It does not work because the weather is getting warmer.

Sadie pouring the water in a plastic bag

This time, Sadie has an idea. She takes the bowl of water (the melted snowman) and pours the water into the plastic bag. She then places the bag into the freezer. All summer and fall Sadie misses the snowman, but she know that she will see him soon in the winter. The first snowfall of the season, Sadie takes the ice out of the plastic bag that's in the freezer and makes a snowball around the ice. She then rolls more snowballs and makes her snowman again.

Sadie making a snowball with her ice the next winter

The new snowman made with the old ice

I really enjoy reading and discussing this book with students. Many of them can relate to Sadie. They wish that they could also save the snowmen that they make. As a fun activity, I actually have students collect some snow on a day where there is snow. We typically put it in a jar so that we can see the snow.

Snow collected in a jar

 We then put it at the observation table in our classroom. Students can look at it throughout the day, as long as they don't touch it. They will see it melt as the day goes on. You can do more than one jar at a time. Students can draw/write what they notice about the collected snow. It usually doesn't take very long for the snow to melt.

Our melted snow is now water

When the snow is completely melted, show your students how to place the water in a plastic bag. Talk to your class about how you are going to place it in the freezer. Have your students predict what is going to happen to the water while it is in the freezer. Personally, I like to have it freeze overnight so that the students have something to be excited about for the next time that they come.

The frozen water in the plastic bag

  The next time that the students come into the classroom, take the frozen ice out of the freezer and show the children. Make sure that they see the ice in the bag. Talk about how that is the same water that was inside of the bag, but now it's frozen. Then, open the plastic bag and show your students the block of ice.

The block of ice

  If there is still snow, have your students use the ice and roll it into a ball with the snow. They can make a new snowman. If there isn't any snow, save it and keep it in the freezer until it snows again. Hopefully, there will be more snow at some point so that you can complete the activity!

Our new snowman made with our ice

                               Sadie and the Snowman Activities

1. Science Activity: Snow, Water, and Ice (the activity posted above)

2. Write/Draw observations of melting snow

3. Insta-Snow Powder for the sensory table. To buy click here: https://www.amazon.com/Be-Amazing-Insta-Snow-Makes-Gallons/dp/B000FA6APE/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=dry+snow&qid=1551143237&s=gateway&sr=8-1

4. Make "Melted Snowmen" with a mixture of glue and shaving cream

A "melted snowman" made with glue and shaving cream

If you would like to buy your own copy of Sadie and the Snowman click here: https://www.amazon.com/Sadie-Snowman-Allen-Morgan/dp/0590418262/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_1?crid=3BTNYUMOSEV7&keywords=sadie+and+the+snowman+by+allen+morgan&qid=1551143832&s=gateway&sprefix=sadie+and+the+%2Caps%2C140&sr=8-1-fkmrnull

                                                                       HAPPY READINGS!
                                                                                 
                                                                                    Jenna 

Strega Nona written by Tomie dePaola

Ahhh… Strega Nona! Such a classic! I just had to include this wonderful story in my blog. I remember listening to this book on tape in my first grade classroom back when I was in elementary school. I was hooked! It has pasta, magic, and a mysterious old Italian woman. There's not many people who have not heard of this story... whether they read it or have just heard of it. There are many Strega Nona books, but I thought that I would start with the original. You may see another Strega Nona story pop up on my blog!

Strega Nona written and illustrated by Tomie dePaola is about a young boy named Big Anthony who starts to work for Strega Nona, a witch who heals the people of Calabria. Strega Nona tells Big Anthony NOT to touch her magic pasta pot. Of course Big Anthony is intrigued by the pasta pot. He sees Strega Nona sing her magic spell and pasta magically appears in the pot. Unfortunately, Big Anthony leaves before he sees her blow three kisses to the pasta pot to make the pasta stop.

He told the people of Calabria about the magic pasta pot, but they did not believe him. Strega Nona has to leave to visit a friend in a different town, so she leaves him to do his work at the house. He uses this opportunity to show the people of Calabria that the magic pasta pot does exist. At first the townspeople are happy about the pasta that the pot magically makes. Big Anthony shares it with the people. Then, the pasta does not stop! It starts to take over the village, but Big Anthony does not know how to stop it! Luckily, Strega Nona comes back just in time, and sings the magic song and blows the three kisses. She reprimands Big Anthony by making him eat all of the pasta.

Children typically really enjoy this story. They love how it has magic, and they think it's funny how the pasta just keeps coming out of the pot! This story also teaches children that they need to obey the rules. There are rules for a reason. Strega Nona knew that it could be dangerous if someone played with her pasta pot. Big Anthony should have obeyed Strega Nona's wish. If Strega Nona didn't come back in time, the town would have been destroyed by the overflowing pasta.

I had the chance to meet the author and illustrator of Strega Nona: Tomie dePaola!

I was lucky enough a few years ago to actually meet Tomie dePaola! I heard about a book signing at a small Italian bookstore in the North End. I just had to go! I stood in line for hours in the freezing cold, but it was worth it! It took so long because he wanted to really talk with each person he met with. He was so genuine and you could tell that he really enjoys writing and illustrating. I bought a collection of Strega Nona stories in one book and he signed it for me. I also had the opportunity to buy a Strega Nona plush and he signed her apron. I do want to collect plushies that go with certain children's books for my future classroom, but I think I will keep this one at home and keep it safe and sound!

My autographed Strega Nona plush and book collection

                                                    Strega Nona Activities

1. Act out the story in small groups/whole group.

2. Listen to the story on CD and have students follow along.

3. Have students make their own magic pasta pots on paper and use yarn as the flowing pasta.

4. Make a Strega Nona and/or Big Anthony paper lunch bag puppet.

5. Visit https://www.storylineonline.net/books/strega-nona/ and have your students watch/listen to Mary Steenburgen read Strega Nona. She does a phenomenal job! She even plays the accordion when she sings the spell! 

6. If allowed (I could when I worked at a private preschool) make pasta for your students as a small snack to bring the story to life.

                                                             HAPPY READINGS! 

                                                                           Jenna